1717 AD., German States, Hamm in Westphalia, City, 3 Pfennige, KM 75 var.
German States, Hamm in Westphalia, city, 1717 AD.,
3 Pfennige (ø 19-20 mm / 1,48 g), copper, mintage ? , axis coin alignment ↑↓ (180°), bent,
Obv.: STADT - HAMM / 17 – 17 , shield of arms (fesse of checkerboard).
Rev.: III / PFEN , value in wreath, die break between first two bars of the numeral.
KM 75 var. (coin alignment) .
Hamm is a provincial city in Westphalia, some 30 kilometers northeast of Dortmund, in the county of Mark. When the ruling house of Mark became extinct in 1609, it´s territories, including the city Hamm, went to Brandenburg-Prussia in 1624 after a dispute with Pfalz-Neuburg.
Mamm struck a local copper coinage from 1609 to 1749.
The coat of arms has been in use in its present form for about 750 years. It shows the markish chessboard ("märkischen Schachbalken") in red and silver on a golden field. Originally it was the founders' coat of arms, i. e. the Counts of Mark. The chessboard and the colours are often displayed in the coats of arms of further towns founded by that family line. Similarly, the colours of the city are red and white.
The name Ham means "corner" in the old Low German dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name thom Hamme would be used, which evolved slowly into its modern form Hamm. The name derives from the description of the Hamm's location in the corner of the Lippe river and the narrow Ahse affluent, where it was founded on Ash Wednesday in March 1226 by Count Adolf I of the Mark.
Some important dates:
1350 The Black death killed nearly all of the citizens. Only seven families survived.
1469 Hamm became a member of the Hanseatic League. It was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the today's Ruhr area still were only tiny villages.
1614 The Treaty of Xanten ends the conflict about the heritage of Cleve-Mark, the Electorate Brandenburg (later Prussia) inherited the Ducal Cleve and the counties Ravensburg and Mark (with Hamm)
1618-1648 during the Thirty Years' War, Hamm was taken several times by different armed forces and had to endure changing garrisons. Almost all buildings were destroyed, except for the main church St. Georg (today: Pauluskirche) and St. Agnes church.
1847 the first train stops at the main station Hamm
1853 founding of metal industries in Hamm
1901 coal-mines start mining
1939-1945 55 air raids destroy nearly 60% of the old city and leave only a few historical buildings.